Homeless Single Adults

One Night Count:

• 2,154 single men[7]
• 751 single women

Safe Harbors Data

• 2,917 single men
• 1,287 single women
• 14 transgender individuals
• 45 individuals without gender information

As with those who are experiencing chronic homelessness, many single adults struggle with mental or physical health issues, or substance abuse issues. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, estimates that between 20-25% of homeless people have some form of mental illness. NAMI also asserts that, “access to decent, safe, and affordable housing remains a tremendous challenge for adults living with severe mental illnesses.”[8] There are also a percentage of adults who have co-occurring substance abuse and mental health concerns.

Although many single adults may experience personal challenges, unlike the chronically
homeless, single adults more generally become homeless due to one-time or short-term economic circumstances like car repair, or job loss, which can easily set forth the chain of events leading to homelessness.
Access to appropriate services like eviction prevention and landlord-tenant counseling, as well as affordable housing, are all imperative for reducing homelessness of single adults.

Footnotes

[8] http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Policy/Issues_Spotlights/Housing_and_Homelessness.htm